Applicant has identified two major obstacles to the popular expansion of the carrom game. The first has to do with the manufacture of the frame, which requires a curved inner surface behind each pocket. A known way to make this inner corner involves joining four pieces of hardwood at the corners with high-quality dovetail joints and then routing out the inner edge of the frame so as to provide an inner curved surface at each of the corners. This way of making the inner corner however, is expensive and labor intensive since it requires equipment capable of accuracy of detail and an experienced, skilled operator to produce a high quality frame. This way is also wasteful of raw material since the routed-out portion is reduced to dust. In South Asian countries, where routing equipment and experienced technicians are not readily available, manufacturers of carromboards solve this problem by carving a corner piece by hand, which they insert into a keyhole at each corner. While this alternative way of making the inner corner is more labor-intensive than the first method mentioned, it requires no exceptional skill. Since the cost of South Asian labor is relatively inexpensive as compared to the cost of labor in the United States, the inner carved corner fabrication technique is used by virtually all South Asian manufacturers. A carved corner piece can however work loose. Therefore, most Western makers of carromboards have abandoned the carving technique in favor of the routing technique. One European manufacturer, Carat Carrom of Switzerland, creates the inner corner by making an insert whose outer vertical surface follows a round contour and whose inner surface follows the round contour of the pocket. This specially shaped insert is placed in a large hole that is drilled in each corner of the frame with a hole saw and is glued into place.
Aside from the obstacle created by the way the frame is manufactured as discussed above, the other major obstacle to the widespread popularization of international standard carrom to the American public is the inherent difficulty of the game. Although this is a positive attribute as far as promotion among game enthusiasts and serious players of pool, billiards and snooker, it is a handicap when trying to interest and excite new players. Since the pockets are so small in diameter, it requires a high degree of accuracy to propel the coins in the right direction. The margins of error in the trajectories of both striker and coin are very precise with the result that a slight inaccuracy in the striking produces a miss in the pocket.
This difficulty of international standard carrom is compounded by the presence of a hardwood frame surface in back of each pocket the effect of which is to cause a coin to bounce back out over the pocket if hit too hard. Accuracy of force is therefore an equally important component of carrom skill, along with accuracy of aim, as a perfectly aimed shot can often miss due to excessive speed. The ability to control speed of the coin can be very frustrating for beginners and it is applicant's observation that aim improves quite rapidly for novices whereas speed is much more difficult to bring under control. On the other hand, this is also what makes international standard carrom so appealing to serious game players. It rewards skill, finesse, and practice making a perfectly executed shot, from the standpoint of both trajectory and speed, an enormously satisfying accomplishment.
The high degree of difficulty in playing international standard carrom, as discussed above, is a major factor in the need for improvements on the principal and substantially only type of carromboard sold in the United States of America since 1898 by the Carrom Company under the name “Carrom”. Promotional literature produced by the Carrom Company indicates that its carrom game product was “inspired by a game played in India for centuries” but was then modified by the Company's founder, Henry Haskell, to make it more suitable and easier for play by American players. As a result, the pocket sizes were made larger and the frame made thinner, the result of which was to substantially eliminate any bounce back over the pockets. Haskell's modifications of the pockets assured success for beginners, as speed was eliminated as a factor of accuracy and the angle of deflection was greatly enlarged. Thus, the game was made easier for novices while eliminating the challenge for advanced players that made the original Indian game, now the international standard, so competitive.
The primary object of the present invention is thus to provide a corner-pocket assembly that will overcome the obstacle presented by the existing type of corner-pocket assembly for beginning players while keeping the game challenging for more advanced players. The object of the invention can also be said to be to create a standardized carromboard on which all skill levels, from novice to tournament player, can be satisfied and/or incrementally challenged particularly when playing according to the international standards. At the same time, a further object of the invention is to provide a carromboard that is easier and more cost-effective to manufacture, so as to be able to provide entry-level as well as advanced boards at a reasonable cost.
Other objects will become apparent as the description proceeds.